RSC Will Present AS YOU LIKE IT, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, and MEASURE FOR MEASURE as Part of Summer 2019 Programme

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran announced today his ambition for a new collaborative cross-cast ensemble which reflects the nation, to play three Shakespeare productions in a newly reconfigured Royal Shakespeare Theatre next summer. All three productions will then tour in repertoire for the first time to six regional theatres in 2019.

He said today:

"This season reflects the power of storytelling in its most essential form, with the actor at the centre of the work. With Justin Audibert and Kimberley Sykes, I am creating a company which reflects the nation in terms of gender, ethnicity, regionality, and disability - 27 actors who will all appear in two out of the three plays.

"We will build on our commitment to inclusivity and create a truly shared theatrical experience. We are also making some exciting changes to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre auditorium specifically for this season by extending the audience further round the stage at the Circle levels than ever before, creating new perspectives on the action, truly exploiting the unique qualities of our thrust stage, showing our work in a completely new way. We will then tour all three shows in repertoire, something that is rarely achieved with large scale productions.

"Meanwhile in the Swan Theatre next summer, we celebrate two important anniversaries.

"To mark 25 years since the first democratic elections in South Africa, we are thrilled to be staging the world premiere of a new play by renowned South African actor, John Kani. John started to write the play when he was playing Caliban in 2009 opposite Antony Sher as Prospero in The Tempest. The resulting play - Kunene and the King - will be directed by Janice Honeyman, and features both these extraordinary South African actors.

"We also mark 250 years since David Garrick's famous Shakespeare Jubilee in 1769, which launched Stratford-upon-Avon as the epicentre of the Shakespeare Industry.

"We are staging two plays in which David Garrick enjoyed two of his most successful roles. Both are Restoration plays, a comedy and a tragedy: The Provoked Wife, by John Vanbrugh and Venice Preserved, by Thomas Otway (regarded by Guardiantheatre critic Michael Billington as one of the 101 greatest plays ever written).

"We will follow next spring's tour of Romeo and Juliet with the first step in our Shakespeare Nation project, a major adult participation programme, which builds on our already extensive ongoing experience with amateur theatre makers, and our 2016 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - A Play for the Nation. With funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we will work with six partner theatres over four years to get 3000 people involved with Shakespeare for the first time.

"And we continue to look even further forward, with more exciting details to come later this year on our collaboration with Florida-based spatial computing company, Magic Leap, on how we are exploring the limitless creative opportunities of theatre and digital innovation."

For bookings or more information, call 01789 403493 or visit www.rsc.org.uk.

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